We are celebrating the debut of two unique seasonal brews (Fruitful Life Collaboration Ale and Morning Coffee Stout 2013) with two special Taproom beer events (Nakameguro Taproom European Beer Night and Morning Coffee Stout Brunch).

One of the best aspects of working in the craft beer industry is the friendly spirit of cooperation that exists among brewers. This spirit manifests itself in many ways, none more indicative than collaboration brewing. Our most recent collaborative brew was in partnership with the Mikkeller guys (idiosyncratic Danish “gypsy” brewers of world renown). Brew day was December 10, 2012 at the Baird Brewery in Numazu. It was a fruitful one.

The charge from Mikkel was: “Let’s brew a distinctive beer incorporating as many fresh local ingredients as you can get your hands on.” Into the Heda orchards of Nagakura-san we went, scavenging five types of in-season citrus fruit (aoshima mikan, hassaku, kabosu, yuzu and lemon). In addition to the fruit, we brewed with three types of Japanese sugar (korizato, akato, sudakito) as well as raw wheat from Saitama. The hops we used were all fruit-accented varieties (Summit, Nelson Sauvin, Cascade, NZ Cascade, Motueka). We fermented the wort with our Belgian yeast strain and then krausened at packaging with our Single-Take Session Ale.

The result is a dry, crisp, and unmercifully tart citrus ale. It is draught-only and is debuting at our Nakameguro Taproom European Beer Night on Thursday, February 28. It will be available at our other Taproom pubs beginning Friday, March 1. If you are a craft beer retailer and wish to purchase one of the remaining kegs, please contact our friends at Whisk-e (importers of Mikkeller beer) as they will be the distributor (fukuda@whisk-e.co.jp; tel 03-5418-4611).

*Morning Coffee Stout 2013 (7%):

Each year at Baird Beer we combine our passion for stout with our love of coffee in the brewing of Morning Coffee Stout. This 2013 version is an export-style stout infused with freshly roasted (delivered still warm direct from the roaster of our friends at Arabica Coffee) organic beans from Mexico. We add these beans — whole, without grinding – directly to the stout in the conditioning tank in what amounts to a cold beer toddy extraction method. The result is a perfectly balanced flavor marriage between stout beer and java beans.

Morning Coffee Stout 2013 debuts Saturday, March 2 at 11:00 am sharp at all of our Taproom pubs in a special Morning Coffee Stout Brunch. It also will be available both on draught and in bottles (360 ml) at other fine Baird Beer retailing establishments throughout Japan beginning Saturday, March 2. If you enjoy both the flavors of stout beer and coffee, this is a beer not to miss.

This is the kick-off party for the release of the Baird-Mikkeller Fruitful Life Collaboration Ale. We are taking it also as an opportunity to celebrate beers from Europe — the cradle of modern beer culture. In addition to the Fruitful Life Collaboration Ale, we will feature five European beers, all imported by Whisk-e, on tap. The selected beers are:

Mikkeller Sort Gul Black IPA
Nogne Brun Belgian
Thornbridge Saint Petersburg Stout
Brew Dog Dogma Scotch Ale
Brew Dog 77 Lager
A one-night only European Beer Card with punches for all six featured beers (sampler glass size) will be available for 1,800 yen. Patrons who complete the card will be awarded a special beer goods prize. Chef Joon is preparing a European-themed food menu designed to complement the beer selection. This is not to be missed! Doors open at 5:00 pm.

All of our Taproom pubs will open early on Saturday and Sunday (March 2-3) to host a brunch celebrating the release of Morning Coffee Stout 2013. Each Taproom will feature its own distinct brunch menu which will be served from 11:00 am until 1:00 pm. Bring the kids too — they are always welcome!

Morning Coffee Stout Brunch will also serve as kick-off of Baird Beer Taproom Lucky 7 Stout Month. During the month of March we will be paying homage to stout beers by releasing six seasonal versions of stout. The Stouts on the menu are:

Morning Coffee Stout
Midnight Oil Export Stout
Mama’s Milk Stout
Smoke & Fire Habanero Stout
Black Smoke Stout
Great American Stout
The lucky seventh stout is our year-round Irish-style dry stout, Shimaguni Stout. Each of the beers will be released on separate dates (to be announced as the month unfolds). Lucky Seven Stout Month cards will be printed and Baird Beer prizes will be awarded at the end of the month to patrons who have completed the entire card (which includes the seven stouts as well as an eighth beer, Luck of the Irish Red Ale, which will be released on St. Patrick’s Day). The cards can be used and stamped at any of our four Taproom pubs. The Taproom kitchens will be preparing specialty dishes throughout the month designed to enhance your stout drinking experience.

Service: Very friendly and smilingFacilities: Very clean. Beautiful washroom.Prices: ReasonableStrong points: A true cafe where to relax and enjoy a good light meal any time of the day. Interesting reasonable wine and cider list.

This time Saori san, the Manager at PATINA, Café & Brasserie really surpassed herself!
She told me she had practiced long and hard for this new cappucino!

“Phoenix” in Japanese is called “Hoo/鵬” (“Peng” in Chinese, although the tales somewhat differ).

Service: Shy but very friendlyEquipment & Facilities: Good general cleanlinessPrices: Reasonable to slightly expensive but very good valueStrong points: Tex-Mex gastronomy of superior quality. Doubles up as bar in evenings

Since QUIZOXY seems to be so interested here are two more American specialties I had the pleasure to savor the past week:

1) QUADRUPLE CHEESE DOG

knowing that the owner is bike fan I was wondering if this was a relic of one of his accidents…
Actually it got burnt by accident in the kitchen!

The hot dog as introduced on the menu: Cheese Dog!

Yummy-looking, isn’t it?

A touch of class in the appetizers: Home-smoked duck and corn salad!

The half-foot long sausage in the oven-baked hot dog covered with cheese and the French fries (as they say in the States!)!

Now, the big difference is that the sausages are exclusively home-made, not some cheap canned stuff!

I can assure that the sausage alone would be reason enough to visit Tequila7s Diner!

Not to mention the spicy French fries!

2) MUSHROOM MELT HAMBURGER

The mushroom melt hamburger as announced on the menu!

WOW!
No real need to comment here!

Another touch of class in the appetizers: Home-marinated sardine and coleslaw salad!

Now that hamburger was just too big to eat with my hands. I savored it with fork and knife!

Service: Very friendly and smilingFacilities: Very clean. Beautiful washroom.Prices: ReasonableStrong points: A true cafe where to relax and enjoy a good light meal any time of the day. Interesting reasonable wine and cider list.

A large bistro has the advantage of plenty of space for use in an exhibition and Patina in Shizuoka City, Aoi Ku is just doing that helping out a young local artist to make a name!

Artist Taku Yamada, manager Saori Kaneko and Chef Akiko Kondoh!

Taku Yamada is a painter who has the talent to use only a knife or sometimes a roller! His works do certainly a long look and what better to do it until March 4th while enjoying some succulent food or a relaxing drink!

Even the menu was designed by the artist!

And there was one item on the lunch menu I couldn’t let pass away: Oven-roasted guinea fowl!

And while Chef Kondoh was concocting my lunch I decided to look around and take pictures to share it all!

First the painting hung on the wall along the long hall leading to the restroom!

Taku Yamada had a title for each but I prefer to impart my impressions!
Summer colors?

Nature mosaic?

Looking through a fire barrier?

Rain through the mist?

Flowers!

Bi-lingual introduction and message of the artist!

Meadows? (Inside the restroom!)

Going back to the restaurant past the counter…

A nova cloud in space? (Actually Taku told me I was not the first one to say so!)

Sunset through a bay window!

More flowers?

Wine menu on the wall mirror! Saori’s idea!

Daydreaming?

The last two paintings and the mirror the bench tables!

More flowers (roses?) among the antique objets!

By then my lunch was ready.
I complemented it with a glass of Merlot wine!

First of all a warm cockles broth consomme!

The oven-baked guinea fowl (bred and raised in France!)!

The whole leg and its grilled skin with a sweet a sweet vinegar and mustard sauce!

Service: Very friendly and welcoming. Great explanations.Facilities & Equipment: Very clean and great washroomPrices: AppropriateStrong points: Traditional and modern izakaya gastronomy. Very inventive cuisine with introduction of some Western concepts. Great seafood. Great sake list. Wine and other alcohols available. Intensive use of local products combined with ingredients from other prefectures! Curry Lunch Sets!

If you want to sample and enjoy a true Japanese lunch and still very reasonably priced the place is Kohaku in Aoi Ku, Shizuoka City when Takashi Kawauguchi/川口貴士さん works all on its own (in the evening he gets help!) for the pleasure of his customers!

So for 1,500 yen you can a full lunch in “small plates”!
Now, did I have?

The craft beer revolution that is in full swing today is spawning similar revolutions in ancillary fields. One prominent example is the hop growing industry. Spurred by craft brewers insatiable appetite for boldly flavorful and aromatic hop types, hop breeding and growing programs are proliferating like never before, and in places not historically known for hops. New Zealand is one such locale.

The character of hops, of course, is affected by the local climate and soil. The southern hemisphere hops from New Zealand are like none we have experienced from northern hemisphere hop bastions such as America’s Pacific Northwest and Germany’s Hallertau region. There is an exotic, tropical fruit like character to the hops of New Zealand which we are proud to feature in a special seasonal India Pale Ale that we are releasing today: Kiwi IPA.

New Baird Beer Seasonal Release:
*Kiwi IPA (ABV 7%):

The concept behind this IPA is simple: highlight the character of New Zealand hops. To do so, we have incorporated four hop varieties, all of which were grown in New Zealand (Nelson Sauvin, Motueka, Wakatu, and NZ Cascade). We make four separate additions during the kettle boil, using a single variety for each addition, and then combine all four varieties in a fifth addition during the post-boil whirlpool. A final four-variety addition as dry hops to the post primary fermentation conditioning tank rounds out our hopping regimen.

The result? Wow! Come taste for yourself. Kiwi IPA is now pouring from the taps of all of our Taproom pubs and is available for immediate release (kegs and bottles) to Baird Beer retailing pubs, restaurants and liquor shops throughout Japan.

Most beer enthusiasts have tasted, or at least heard of, the idiosyncratic beers of Danish “gypsy” brewer Mikkeller. In Japan, the Mikkeller beers are imported by our good friends at Whisk-e who smartly facilitated a collaboration brewing between Mikkeller and Baird during a recent visit to Japan by Mikkel himself. The fruit of this collaboration will be unveiled during a special European Beer Night celebration at our Nakameguro Taproom on Thursday, February 28.

In addition to the Baird-Mikkeller collaboration beer (more details of which will be unveiled in an upcoming bulletin), we will be featuring five other European beers selected and imported with loving care by the Whisk-e team. A special stamp card with punches for all six beers will be available for purchase, with beer goods prizes awarded to those who complete the card that evening. Chef Joon is, even as I write, busy concocting a special European-themed food menu for the event. Mark your calendars — you won’t want to miss this. Full details will be announced early next week

*Lucky Seven Stout Month:

March is the month in which we select a week to celebrate the Stout beer style at our Nakameguro Taproom. Well, this year we have decided to dedicate the entire month of March to a celebration of the Stout, and we will do so at all of our Taproom pubs.

During the month, seven different Stout beers will be released and celebrated on different days (the entire schedule will be announced next week). The month will kick off with a two-day morning brunch held at each Taproom on Saturday and Sunday, March 2-3 (doors opening at 11:00 am) during which we will debut the 2013 batch of Morning Coffee Stout. So once again, mark your calendars. Full event details will be announced next week.

Some people might think I’m reneging on my origins (Bourgogne, France) since I tend to take quite a few repasts at the best of the Italian restaurants in town and prefecture…
Well, good food is good food, and though Western food might come out under the labels of various countries, it is actually more fusion food prepared with supreme ingredients more than anything else!
In any case I had to obey the orders of the Missus this time!
Now, what did Chef Takehiko Katoh/加藤武彦 serve us this time?

Actually, it is not easy to order as an array of succulent antipasti misto are looking at you right in the eye!

See what I mean?

We tried to keep this antipasti misto order small enough but that is what came on the counter!

The pork terrine is French. Talk of fusion gastronomy!

It was then about time to look at the seasonal/winter menu extras!

Napoli-style carozza! Raw ham wrapped around bread that had been seasoned with mozzarella cheeses and anchovy sauce before being deep-fried!

Just can’t stop gobbling them down!

The carozza viewed sideways to show the mozzarella cheese!

More fusion food: Ris de Veau/veal swetmeats and mushrooms sauteed and seasoned with Marsa wine!

The ris de veau so elegantly served and so delicious!

The mushrooms are local, shimeji, and they contribute so much in taste!

And then it was time for the fish: Kurodai/Black seabream from Suruga bay sauteed on its skin with herbs and served with local skillet fried vegetables. The vegetables in front are new taro/satoimo with their skins sauteed to a crisp!